A judge in the US state of Texas is hearing arguments in a lawsuit filed by anti-abortion groups seeking to ban a widely used abortion pill in the United States in the latest legal battle over reproductive health care in the country.
US federal judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, a conservative appointee by former President Donald Trump, will consider banning mifepristone, an abortion pill approved by the Food and Drug Administration more than 20 years ago.
The Alliance for the Defense of Liberty and other groups asked Kacsmaryk on Wednesday for an immediate order that would revoke or suspend the drug’s approval.
Such a step would be an unprecedented challenge for the FDA, which in 2000 approved mifepristone in combination with a second pill as a safe and effective method of abortion.
would also be further reshape the reproductive rights landscape in the US. a decision of the nation’s highest court in June to overturn its landmark 1973 abortion rights ruling, Roe v Wade.
If Judge Kacsmaryck decides to revoke the FDA’s approval of mifepristone, it will not be based on science or evidence, it will be based on anti-choice ideology.
And that is a terrifying prospect for the future of our democracy. pic.twitter.com/CY0qrNFnDV
— NARAL (@NARAL) March 7, 2023
abortion pills they are the most common form of abortion in the US, accounting for more than half of all procedures as of 2020, according to the Guttmacher Institute, an abortion rights research organization.
“If Judge Kacsmaryck decides to revoke the FDA’s approval of mifepristone, it will not be based on science or evidence,” abortion rights group NARAL wrote on Twitter ahead of Wednesday’s hearing. “It will be based on ideology against the right to decide.”
In June, the abortion rights movement celebrated when the conservative-majority US Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in favor shoot down Roe vs. Wade.
In the months since, numerous Republican-ruled states have instituted Severe restrictions or absolute prohibitions on abortion.and anti-abortion activists have they changed their focus to try to ban abortion pills too.
Mifepristone is the first of two pills taken to induce an abortion. The pill stops the progress of the pregnancy, and a second pill taken up to 48 hours later, misoprostol, causes cramping, bleeding, and emptying of the uterus.
The process can be completed safely at home and is approved for up to 10 weeks of pregnancy.
The Texas lawsuit alleges that the FDA’s 2000 approval of mifepristone was flawed for several reasons, including an inadequate review of the pill’s safety risks.
The lawsuit also challenges several later FDA decisions that loosened restrictions on the pill, including removing the requirement that women pick it up in person.
But abortion rights advocates have criticized the lawsuit as yet another attack on reproductive justice in the United States.
A small group of protesters demonstrated Wednesday outside the courthouse in Amarillo, Texas, where the case is being heard. They carried banners with slogans such as “It’s not your womb, it’s not your decision” and “Defend medical abortion.”
Lindsay London, a 41-year-old nurse, said the case was “100 percent ideologically based.”
“If they were concerned about people’s health, there would be many other actions they would be taking,” London told the AFP news agency. “Is ideologicalnot based on science.”
Major medical organizations, including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, have sided with the FDA, saying that mifepristone “has been thoroughly studied and is definitely safe.”
Legal experts also say there is little precedent for a lone judge to overturn the FDA’s scientific evaluation, which stated in a January filing that stopping the sale of mifepristone would “drastically” harm the public interest and push women to undergo unnecessary surgical abortions.
It is not clear when Kacsmaryk will make his decision, but if he finds in favor of the plaintiffs, the US government is expected to appeal.
If it rules against the FDA, it’s also unclear how quickly access to mifepristone could be reduced or how the process would work. The FDA has its own procedures for revoking drug approvals, which involve public hearings and scientific deliberations and can take months or years.
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